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Saturday, June 26, 2010

Sky & Helene's Macarons

I know two macaron posts in two days seems like overkill - but the day before we made ours I was in Moore Wilson Fresh and spied this awesome little box (sealed with wax!). After I had advised the guy behind the pastry counter that the blackboard contained a spelling mistake (it said "macaroons", not "macarons" - impressively, he immediately called his supervisor over to tell her so it could be fixed, which made me feel even more ridiculously pedantic) I requested a box (they were tucked away behind the counter). At $7.50 for a box of four they're not cheap, but come cheaper than Christchurch's J'aime les Macarons, which are $2.50 each.

I was a bit disappointed when I got home and realised that the box of four only contained two flavours; the poster on the cabinet they were in showed four different macarons so I had assumed each box was an assortment. Oh well, at least I didn't get the coffee flavour!

Our selection had two lemon macarons and two chocolate ones. I was sad to see that they don't look illustriously filled, but they are flawlessly smooth and macaron-y looking.

So, the big test; how do they taste, and how does that compare to the ones we made?

Well, the chocolate one was pretty tasty, with a rich chocolate flavour, though there was no substance to the shell - no chewiness, it was more like a light meringue biscuit than what I think of as macaron (bearing in mind I've only tried a couple so my judgement is not the most experienced). The lemon one was definitely lemony but I felt it lacked zing - and it really didn't seem to contain much filling. I tend to think that if you were trying these having never tasted macarons before you might think they were either overrated or overpriced.

With, obviously, a slight bias, both Mr Cake and I thought our homemade macarons were better. We agreed that our buttercream filling needed more flavour (for both the passionfruit and the raspberry) but both still packed a better punch than the lemon. The shells on our macarons definitely had the chew factor - far more enjoyable.

From an aesthetic perspective, the bought ones are obviously a bit neater - I like how the foot isn't splayed out - but were lots flatter, and I suspect it's not completely authentic for them to be as rounded as mine but I like them. I also think a good macaron should have a visible filling - because you eat with your eyes too!

What do you guys think? Tell me the truth; I can take it! How do mine stack up lookwise - and do you know what makes a macaron kosher?

Sky & Helene's Macarons are available from Moore Wilson Fresh on the corner of Tory & College Streets, Wellington, ph 04 384 9906

10 comments:

rosa, that biack right one looks the best. i'm actually think i'd go for your ones over theirs!! there was a blueberry macaron thing on the masterchef her the other night it looked super yum! and had a huge filling :D

Oh - i found my answer :) I didn't know they were two different things... and I've never seen either before! The 'rons are definately prettier than the 'roons... but the 'rons have almond meal and the 'roons have coconut....

These are gorgeous! Anyone know if you can buy in bulk direct from Sky & Helene's? I'd love to buy a bunch for a bridal party, but can't seem to find any information other than by the box of four from Moore Wilsons.Thanks for any advice! Kat

We just brought the ones from Moore Wilsons as well but both boxes had four flavours, I think you lucked out. We got lemon (which I thought was delicious - kind of tasted like lemon meringue pie), chocolate - very sweet, raspberry - tasted like jam and vanilla. lemon and vanilla were definitely the best!

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All About Mrs Cake

Hi! I'm Rosa, a.k.a. Mrs Cake, and I live in Wellington, New Zealand. I love food in all its forms, my fabulous family, and a bit of good old-fashioned Kiwi DIY. This blog started around food but has evolved to include some other bits and pieces - I hope you'll join me for the journey! See more